May
2008

Close-Up on Technology

First Commercial Recycling Process For Electronics Waste
A 23-year-old Dutch plastic recycling firm, Plastic Herverwerking Brabant (PHB) BV has become the first supplier in the world of a complete commercial altered-density-media system tailored to separate the plastics in waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Since last October, PHB has operated a WEEE recycling system sized for 33 million lb/yr and averages about 4400 lb/hr of reclaimed material from 11,000 lb/hr of waste input.

Sequential Hard/Soft Injection Molding with Water Assist
In 2004, the value of pairing two-material injection with water assist was demonstrated in production of two-layer automotive pipes and ducts (see Learn More). Further potential for this combination of advanced techniques in sequential injection of hollow automotive parts with rigid and flexible sections is being developed at the German Institute of Plastics Processing (known as the IKV). Water injection technology (WIT) was first developed at the IKV in the 1990s.

Processor's Edge

Precision Molder Takes on LSR
Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR) injection molding makes up just 10% to 15% of U.S. medical or automotive applications that are also served by high-consistency silicone rubber (HCR), EPDM, latex, natural rubber, TPEs, flexible PVC, and even porcelain ceramic. Nonetheless, LSR molding is attracting growing interest (see Learn More), enough to prompt the formation of a new division dedicated to LSR by GW Plastics in Bethel, Vt.

Starting Up

Economic Outlook - May 2008
Plastic bottle demand will pick up gradually in the second half of this year as the U.S. economy, particularly consumer spending, slowly regains momentum.

Hourly Rates Rose in Second Half
Custom injection molders raised their machine-hour rates an average of 1% from June to December 2007, according to responses from 93 molders to our latest semi-annual survey.

Your Business In Brief - May 2008
New Custom Compounder for Medical & Consumer MarketsArkadia Plastics, Inc., New Britain, Conn., is an 18-month-old custom compounder of a broad range of thermoplastics, with an annual capacity of up to 10 million lb.

Adjustable Calibrators For Bigger HDPE Pipe
KraussMaffei in Germany (U.S. office in Florence, Ky.) is building a larger version of its QuickSwitch fully automatic, adjustable calibrator for pipe diameters from 250 to 450 mm OD.

Chrome-Finished Film Stays Bright After Forming
Soliant LLC in Lancaster, S.C., a maker of paint-replacement films for in-mold decorating, has been winning awards for its “bright film” technology, which looks like chrome, since the film was introduced three years ago.

Clarified PP Surpasses Standard
Two new PP random copolymers are the first of a new family of resins with unsurpassed clarity, according to Sunoco Chemicals, Philadelphia.

Even Out Flow from Backflush Screen Changer
The German parent of Kreyenborg Industries, Lawrenceville, Ga., has built a new device to maintain uniform flow to a die or pelletizer during backflushing of a screen changer.

Extruded Sorghum Loosefill
Technology to foam granular sorghum protein into loosefill “peanuts” was first developed in the early 1990s by Biofoam Corp. in Phoenix, Ariz.

Faster Closure Molding Demonstrated at Chinaplas
At the Chinaplas show last month in Shanghai, Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd., Bolton, Ont., demonstrated “the industry’s highest-output system for finished water closures,” according to Mark Fitzpatrick, business manager for closures.

Gently ‘Kneading’ Long-Glass Compounds
A new way to blend long-glass fibers into plastic melt without either abrasive machine wear or damage to the fibers is offered by Entex Rust & Mitschke GmbH in Germany (represented here by Triad Sales, Greer, S.C.). Entex uses its planetary-roller extruder to melt the resin and feeds the melt into the gap between a pair of large-diameter, counter-rotating rollers, where the cut fibers are added.

New Cooling Screw For PLA Foam
The HHT (high heat transfer) cooling screw from Rauwendaal Extrusion Engineering Inc. in Auburn, Calif., has recently been modified with a flight configuration designed specifically for PLA foam.

New Foam Molding Process at SPE ANTEC
WEB EXCLUSIVE At this month’s SPE Annual Technical Conference in Milwaukee, Thorsten Krumpholz of the German Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV) in Aachen will present a new physical foaming process for standard injection machines.

New Source of Flame Retardants
A broad range of flame-retardant additives, including smoke suppressants, char formers, and oxygen blockers, from South Korea’s Kum Yang Co., Ltd. are newly available in the U.S. and Canada through RitChem Co., Inc., Pleasantville, N.Y.

New Thermal and Valve-Gate Nozzles and Controller
A thermal-gate nozzle that’s the smallest in a line designed for hot-half applications, a valve-gate style for single-nozzle applications, and a multi-zone hot-runner temperature controller are all new from Mastip North America, Slinger, Wis.

Non-Migratory Slip Masterbatch
WEB EXCLUSIVES A new slip-additive concentrate is specially formulated for critical applications like multilayer barrier and lamination film that require non-migratory properties and a controlled medium coefficient of friction (COF). Available from Ingenia Polymers, Houston, IP1069 is a pellet containing a proprietary blend of additives said to be inherently non-migratory.

Nylon 4T Makes Debut
The industry’s first nylon 4T was introduced recently by the Dutch parent company of DSM Engineering Plastics, Evansville, Ind.

Optimization Package For 3D Printers
A new Optimax 3D printing optimization software and hardware package from Israel’s Objet Geometries Ltd. (U.S. office in Billerica, Mass.) is said to automate resin management, improve resin utilization, reduce the risk of human error in loading and unloading of cartridges, and ensure model quality on very long runs.

Plastic-Wrapped Hopper Cuts Dryer Energy Use
A new energy-efficient drying hopper from Dri-Air Industries Inc., East Windsor, Conn., features a non-conductive plastic outer cover that reportedly provides some heat insulation.

Portable Chillers From Taiwan
Portable air- and water-cooled chillers from 3 to 40 tons, built by Shini Plastics Technologies in Taiwan, are now available here from Shini USA, the plastics division of Budzar Industries, Inc., Willoughby, Ohio.

Retrofittable Extrusion Controls
West Control Solutions, Gurnee, Ill., is offering a new compact, retrofittable PLC-based extruder control, designed to replace obsolete PLC controls or discrete pushbutton controls for individual functions on an extruder.

Rheometer Has New Look, Smaller Footprint
WEB EXCLUSIVE A workhorse research and production-floor QC rheometer that offers both controlled rate and controlled stress measurement has a brand new look plus a smaller diameter spindle shaft, smaller water-jacket accessory and direct control of temperature from the keypad on P1 and P2 cone/plate models.

SBC Resists High-Heat Compression Set
A new styrenic block copolymer from Kraton Polymers, Houston, reportedly offers reduced compression set and improved stress relaxation at temperatures above 70 C (158 F). Molecular weight of Kraton G1633 is 50% higher than that of standard SBCs and its compression-set value approaches that of some olefinic TPVs.

Take Total Control of Web Static
WEB EXCLUSIVE A novel static-control system that features a newly designed narrow-web profile static bar and microprocessor-controlled and monitored power supply is said to put users in “total control” of static electricity.

Test Drive Films With Hundreds Of Layers
A special lab for customer trials at Extrusion Dies Industries LLC in Chippewa Falls, Wis., is equipped with EDI’s latest layer-multiplying feedblocks for making microlayer films with dozens or even hundreds of layers.

Thermoplastic Starch Blends From a New Source
New polyolefin-starch masterbatch blends for film and injection molding boast a substantial reduction in “carbon footprint” over resins such as PE, PP, biodegradable polyester, or PLA.

Valve Gate Nozzles Now with Four Drops
Pneumatically controlled valve-gate nozzles from Manner International LP, Norcross, Ga., designed for direct side-gating of tubular parts or applications that require lateral injection, have been extended from a two-drop system to include a four-drop configuration.